Change Partition Size in Windows 10

Monday, March 27, 2017by Jane

Windows 10 Disk management can help us to create more partitions when new hard drive always make whole disk as a C partition, but after months of using computer, some partition ran out of space, Extend Volume in Disk management greyed out because it found no unallocated space followed to active this function. Unless you can allocate free space from other partition full with free space we can see Extend Volume Wizard again.

Shrink Volume in Disk management to active Extend Volume option in other partition? Do you mean to Shrink D Volume, for example, so as to make Extend Volume in C Drive clickable again? No, that's not gonna happen, no matter how much you shrank, you won't active Extend Volume option, and it's not about the capacity but the position that matters.

It's OK to create space unallocated with the Function Shrink Volume, but the option of the unallocated space you created is not continues to C Drive but D Drive, that's why Extend Volume in the right-click menu of C Drive still greys out. Disk management doesn't have the ability to move unallocated space. So if you want to resize Windows 10 partition without data loss. Disk management is the last option when you made up your mind to do a backup for hours and spend more time to do the restore.

Alternative Plan: Resize Partition with Partition Expert

The theory of resizing partition and no touching data in Partition Expert is to move free space in Partition A to Partition B, no formatting partition, no backing up and restoring data in the background (that'll be very slow and that's not resize move at all), no damaging data to make a path to free space. It's just redistribute disk space (used space and free space) in a more scientific way… OK, Stop the princples! Just show me how to resize my Windows C Drive while my data stay intact:

1. Download Partition Expert, choose 32-bit or 64-bit to install and run (Note: you can directly run the portable edition after unzipped).

2. In the main interface find Resize Move Volume option, that's the main function we're gonna use when partitioning. Now, find a partition you wanna decrease and click on Resize Move Volume to continue.

3. This resize partition window is divided into 3 sections, on top of which is the operation bar, in the middle of which is partition capacity info and we put mini-disk-map at the bottom of this window so that you can see real-time resizing effect. In the operation bar, we can drag the handle inwards to decrease partition. Just drag it and we'll go next.

4. In the main disk-map of the first window, unallocated space is created. If you dragged the left handle in the resize window, unallocated space is right next to C Drive; else it stays at the end of D Drive. If the unallocated space locates not at end of C Drive, use Resize Move Volume again to make it there.

5. If you click Commit Now and run Disk management, you'll find Extend Volume of C Drive is now active, you can follow the Extend Volume Wizard and increase C Drive, or you can stay in Partition Expert to Resize C Drive and click Commit again. It's your choice.